Circular Economy Opportunities in Africa Patrick Mwesigye, Regional - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Africa Green Growth Forum, Kigali, Rwanda, 26-30 November 2018

Circular Economy Opportunities in Africa

Patrick Mwesigye, Regional Coordinator, Resource Efficiency and SCP Sub-programme UNEP Africa Office, Nairobi, Kenya

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– Second hand clothes or vehicles?

– Waste Recycling – Prevention – Waste Minimisation – Scavenging/recovery – Reuse – Waste as money in transition – In Africa for long time

What is the Circular Economy?

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

20th CENTURY WASTE MANAGEMENT “How do we get rid of our waste efficiently with minimum damage to public health and the environment?” 21st CENTURY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT “How do we handle our discarded resources in ways which do not deprive future generations of some, if not all, of their value?” Source: Dr. Paul Connett, Zero Waste, Power Point

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Quote from Waste Recycler

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Youth and Circular Economy

• The myth: “If we train youth, they will get jobs.”
• Experience – 5, 10, 20 years of doing things the wrong

way

• Youth, frustrated and jobless, demand attention;
• Unfortunate “certificate culture” and thus youth are

chasing certificates and degrees

• The private sector or government: who should solve

youth jobs crisis (CEOs or Ministers for Youth?)

• Role of Financial Institutions??

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Re-tooling and Re-skilling of Youth

• Fridge repairers to ODS replacement (OzoneAction);
• Waste scavengers to waste recyclers, composting,
• Masons to biogas plant construction, solar water and solar PV

installers;

• Waste managers to waste-to-energy producers (biogas,

briquettes, sustainable charcoal production)

• Land disturbing (digging) to organic farmers
• Forest degraders to tree planting (Green Wall)
• Inefficient cook stoves to efficient cook stoves
• E-waste collection to urban mining

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– Biogas in Ghana – Tannery waste management in Uganda – Plastics Recycling in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mauritius – Leather Offcuts Recycling in Kenya – Composting in South Africa – E-waste recycling – Tyre recycling – Industrial Symbiosis

• Get Get, No Want
• Want Want, No Get

Case Studies

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Dog chew from oxidised splits

Conclusion and Way Forward

• CE an opportunity for jobs and wealth creation in Africa
• Promotion of resource efficiency (demand side management) –

tools/apps available

• Need for re-tooling, re-skilling, mentorship and indigenous knowledge
• Integrated planning at sub-national levels (GE toolkit)
• Empowerment of women and youth
• Awareness on benefits of Circular Economy
• Financing of MSMEs (including start ups)
• Concept of projects to programmes (scale up and replication) – no more

pilots

• Ecoinnovation

patrick.mwesigye@un.org